


The Talk

by caffinatedcollectorduck



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Good Parent Jim "Chief" Hopper, Poor El is grossed out
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-21
Updated: 2020-06-21
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:09:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,937
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24832873
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/caffinatedcollectorduck/pseuds/caffinatedcollectorduck
Summary: Exactly what you think it is
Relationships: Eleven | Jane Hopper & Jim "Chief" Hopper
Comments: 8
Kudos: 34





	The Talk

**Author's Note:**

  * For [DeutchRemy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DeutchRemy/gifts).



“Hoppa?” El asked at breakfast one morning, her mouth full of scrambled eggs. 

“Finish your bite.” Jim gently reminded the girl. 

Eleven swallowed her food, took a sip of apple juice, and continued. “Mike is taller than me.” 

Hopper nodded, knowing a question was coming. “Yep, he is.” 

“Why?” 

“Well, he’s growing. Boys are usually taller than girls, like how I’m taller than Joyce.” 

“But Max is taller than Dustin and Will.” she said matter of factly. 

“Because usually girls grow first, then boys catch up later. Dustin and Will just haven’t caught up yet, but Mike and Lucas have.” 

“Not me.” 

“What do you mean, Kid?” Jim said, prompting her to explain herself further. 

“I’m the smallest.” El said, almost sadly. 

Hopper smiled, reaching over to ruffle her hair. “There’s nothing wrong with that, it just means you haven’t started growing yet. You’ll get there, it takes longer for some people.” 

“Why?” 

Jim sighed. He thought she’d passed the ‘why’ phase months ago, but he couldn’t blame the child for being curious, how else would she learn without asking questions? “Well for one, I’m pretty sure you’re younger than them. You don’t start really growing until a certain age.” 

“When?” 

Hopper scratched at his beard, trying to remember when kids usually hit puberty. He realized suddenly with horror that this was leading up to that talk-the talk-and he wasn’t sure he was ready for it. He was about to tell her to forget about it, to change the subject, but came to the unfortunate conclusion that this was probably a better time than any; he didn’t work today, so he had time to give thorough explanations to her many questions. Sighing deeply, Jim accepted his fate. She was approaching puberty anyway, it was better to tell her what to expect before it happened. Hopper thought fleetingly about calling Joyce, asking her to explain this stuff, but decided against it. He’d adopted her, officially she was his daughter, and no matter how awkward it felt, it was his responsibility now to explain this to her. 

“Okay, Kid. Finish your breakfast and we’ll sit down on the couch. This stuff is important.” 

Eleven’s shoulders jumped up to her neck. “Bad?” 

“No, no.” Hopper said, reaching across the table and taking her hand, his heart clenching at the fact that the child immediately assumed something was wrong. “Not bad, just important. It’s something everyone needs to know.” 

She still seemed unsure, but this was Hoppa, and he wouldn’t lie to her. “Okay.” 

After finishing, they sat together in the living room, El pressed against Hopper’s side like she always did when they sat together. It still surprised the man how far she’d come in just a year, from being absolutely terrified of foreign touch to now craving it. Jim wrapped an arm around the girl's shoulder and sighed, considering where to begin. 

“So you and your friends, you’re kids. Me and Joyce, we’re adults. At some point, kids begin to grow into adults, but the process takes a while. You know Nancy and Jonathan?” El nodded. 

“They’re kind of in the middle of what’s called puberty, and it happens to everyone eventually. It’s starting to happen to your friends now, and it’ll happen to you soon, too.” Hopper began. 

“What...happens?”

“A lot of different things. You’ll start to get taller, and heavier, and you’ll look more like a woman.” 

“How?” 

Here it comes. Hopper sighed, then dove in. “Well, you’ll start to grow breasts, and you'll grow more hair on your body, and you’ll get your period. It happens to every girl when they hit puberty.” 

Eleven didn’t voice her question this time, just stared at him in obvious uncomprehension. 

“Breasts will grow on your chest, they look like…” How the hell was he supposed to explain this?

Luckily, El was more perceptive than he gave her credit for. “Like this?” she asked, mimicking the shape of them. “Like Joyce and Mama?” 

Hopper smiled, relieved she understood. “Yes, exactly. But it won’t happen all at once, it takes a while.” 

“What’s...period? Like the dot?” she queried. 

Jim had to make a conscious effort not to laugh. “No, same word and spelling, but different meaning. You know, like the light from the sun and something that’s light in weight?” The girl   
nodded in understanding, she knew double meaning words. “A period in girls is when you bleed for one week every month.” 

“A week?” Eleven said incredulously. 

The man nodded, realizing for the first time that women had it rough. What the hell would he do if he bled out of his dick for a week? Just the thought made him uneasy. How was he supposed to tell El that something like that was going to happen to her? “Yeah, I know it sounds scary, but it’s normal. Every girl goes through it. Joyce does, Nancy does, even Max. Well, maybe not Max yet, she might be too young. I don’t know.” 

The child was still confused, all of this information had come seemingly out of nowhere. She’d only wanted to know why Mike was suddenly taller than her, now Hopper was telling her that she’d be bleeding for a week every month? “When?” 

“When what?” Jim returned, prompting her to ask a full question. 

“When will I bleed?” 

“That’s tough to answer, Kid. It’s different for everyone. Usually it happens between, jeez, I don’t know, maybe twelve and fourteen? But it can happen earlier or later than that too, it just   
depends on the person.” 

“But..” El said, unsure of how to phrase her question. Jim waited for her out, knew she’d find the words on her own with time. “Blood will get on my shirt.” 

Now he was confused. “What?” 

“It happens for a week?” she asked again. He nodded, and she continued. “It will get everywhere.” Eleven pointed to her nose then, looking down at her shirt. 

Oh shit. “No, Kid, the blood doesn’t come from your nose. It comes from…” she was staring at him like he was crazy, and he felt that way. “It comes from your, your private parts.” Hopper had never spoken with her about this; she’d never asked. 

“Private parts?” 

Jesus Christ. The world was not on his side today. Jim was sure his face was some terrible shade of red when he finally said, “Your private parts are where you...pee from, yeah? They’re private because…” 

“Private?” El interrupted. “Like...privacy? Like Mike said?” 

What the hell did Wheeler have to do with this? He’d kill the damn kid. He looked at the child very seriously. “What did Mike say to you about privacy?” 

“At his house the bathroom is for privacy.” 

Eleven hadn’t been to Mike’s house since last year, she must have been referring to when he first found her. Relieved, Hopper nodded. “Yes, going to the bathroom is something you do in private. 

They’re called your private parts because people aren’t supposed to see them all the time. That’s one reason why we wear clothes.” 

The wheels were turning in her head, Jim could see it. “Blood will come from where I pee?” 

Now wasn’t the time to get into specifics; she’d take Sex Ed in school someday. “Yes.” 

“It will get in my pants.” she said simply, still confused. It didn’t really matter where the blood came from if it was still going to get everywhere. What did Joyce and Nancy do when this happened? She’d never seen any blood on their pants before, and if it happened for a whole week, it probably wasn’t just a tiny amount. 

“Well there’s these things you buy at the store, pads, that go in your underwear and soak up the blood so it doesn’t get on your clothes. It’s kind of like a diaper, but it’s smaller.” Hopper   
attempted to explain, miming the size with his hand. “I’ll bring some home, we should probably have them in the house anyway for when it happens to you.” 

“Diaper?” 

Oh my God. It never failed to surprise Jim how many things she still didn’t know about. “A diaper is what babies wear before they learn to use the toilet. It’s basically underwear that you can go to the bathroom in. Everyone wore them once, you did when you were little, so did I.” 

“A pad is a small diaper?” 

“Kind of, but it’s only for blood, you can’t pee in it, El.” Hopper never anticipated that exact sentence would ever come out of his mouth. It almost made him laugh. 

It certainly made her laugh. “I won’t.” 

This lightened the mood, and he tousled her hair again. “I know it’s a lot of information all at once. I understand if you’re confused.” 

“Why is Mike taller than me?” the girl asked again, still wanting a true explanation for her first question. 

“He’s hitting puberty. Boys get taller and heavier too. They start to look like men.” 

“No breasts or periods?” 

Hopper nodded. “Correct.”

El crossed her arms in annoyance. “No fair.” 

This time, Hopper laughed. Even though the conversation had been hard to broach, she was taking it alright and seemed to be understanding. He knew she had more questions, though, and 

was preparing himself to be in this for the long haul. 

“What happens to them?” the girl asked suddenly. 

“To who?” 

“Boys.” 

Jim was flustered. “I just told you, they…” 

“No,” Eleven interrupted. “What else happens?” 

Did he have to tell her what male puberty was like, too? Damn this kid and her incessant questions. For a moment Hopper wished she was as silent as when he first found her, then chastised   
himself for the thought. El had grown so much in the year she’d been with him, he didn’t truly want her to regress, especially not when she’d already seemed to after the Gate. He’d only recently gotten the child to fall asleep on her own again. 

“Well, boys also start to grow hair on their face and on their chest, and their voices get deeper. Have you noticed that?” Jim asked. 

El nodded. “Mike’s voice, and Lucas and Dustin. Not Will.” 

“Will’s kind of like you, he hasn’t started growing yet.” Hopper said.

“Lucas has hair here.” she said, reaching forward and touching Jim’s upper lip lightly. “Like you. Not girls?” 

“No, girls don’t get hair on their face or chest. Their voices change, but not like boys’. Not as fast or as much.” He hoped he was explaining this well enough, he felt like he was doing a shit job, but the kid was nodding along like she understood. 

“Why puberty?” she asked, still seemingly annoyed at the gender based unfairness. Puberty for boys did not seem that extreme comparatively.

“Kid, it’s not that bad, it happens to everyone. It’s just part of growing up.” Jim said. 

“No, why is there puberty?” 

“Like I said before, it’s the process that turns you into an adult. It makes it so you can grow up.” the man explained, not sure he was answering her question. 

“But…” El hesitated again, trying to find the words. “Why be an adult? What does it do?” 

The significance, that was what the kid was getting at. She wanted to know what the genuine point of puberty was, why it happened at all, and the reason for becoming an adult. Hopper   
knew he was getting himself into the ‘growing up’ talk, but he had not prepared himself for the ‘birds and the bees’ one. This time he really considered calling Joyce, but again sucked it up and swallowed his nervousness. How would she react? With more confusion? Fear? Jim didn’t know the true extent of what had happened to Eleven in the lab, what if she’d been abused in other ways and this topic dug up horrendous memories? He’d already dealt with enough flashbacks and nightmares, what would this information do to her? They would have to get metal windows. 

Well, shit, he eventually conceded. She’s gotta learn it sometime. “Technically the point of becoming an adult is so you can reproduce, so you can have a baby, but not everyone does that. You don’t have to have a baby if you don’t want to, it’s just something you can do, but only when you’re an adult.”

Eleven cocked her head to one side. “Have a baby?” 

“Yeah, a woman can’t have a baby until she’s gone through puberty and become an adult.” Hopper said. 

She eyed him suspiciously, then hit him with one of her classic statement-questions. “You can’t have a baby.” 

“Correct, only women can have babies.” Jim said, taking a sip of the coffee he’d forgotten he was holding. It’d grown lukewarm.

El’s next question caught him by surprise. “Can I have a baby?” 

Hopper nearly choked, spitting some back into the mug. “No!” he said between coughs, causing the girl’s face to drop in disappointment. “No, I mean, not yet, not right now. You’re not a woman yet, so you can’t conceive.” 

“Conceive?” 

It felt like Jim just kept digging himself a deeper hole. “Conceive, it’s how a baby gets inside a woman. A baby can only be conceived after a girl gets her period.” 

“How?” 

Hopper sighed, diving in before losing his nerve; he felt like he’d been doing that a lot lately. “Well, women have eggs inside of their body. A baby grows inside the egg, and when it’s done growing, the woman gives birth.” 

“Birth?” 

“How a baby comes out of a woman.” 

“The baby comes out of the tummy.” El stated confidently, touching her own and thinking back to the only comparison she had. 

To her surprise, Hopper shook his head. “No, the baby grows inside the tummy-kind of-but it doesn’t come out of there, it comes out of the private parts, like a period.” 

The child’s eyes widened in disbelief. “A baby comes from where I pee?” 

Jim resisted the urge to throw his head back and groan. This was nearly painful for him, but knew that making this awkward on his part would only make it more so on hers. “Well sort of, but...it’s a little different. You pee out of one hole that’s very small and just for pee, but there’s a different hole where you have your period and a baby, and that one is bigger because a baby has to fit through it. Understand?” 

“No.” 

“...No? What don’t you understand?” 

“I came from Mama’s tummy. I saw it.” the child said matter of factly.

Now it was Hopper who wasn’t sure he understood. “What do you mean, El? How did you see it?” 

“In her Dream Circle.” 

Jim’s eyes narrowed. “Her what?” 

This time El sighed in annoyance. “Mama showed me why she’s sick.” 

“How did she show you?” Jim asked, still completely confused. 

“In her Dream Circle!” the girl replied, exasperated. 

Hopper took a deep breath, resisting the urge to snap at the child. He had to constantly remind himself that while El’s explanations often didn’t make sense at first, there was always   
something to what she was saying if he was willing to be patient and coax it out of her. “Kid, I don’t know what a Dream Circle is. Can you try to explain it another way?” 

Eleven sighed again and thought for a while, finally brightening when she realized there were a few details she’d left out regarding her mother that would make this easier for the man to understand. “Mama is like me, she has...gifts.” 

Jim had never heard the child refer to her powers as ‘gifts’ before; he’d never heard her refer to them as anything at all. While her revelation was surprising, it rose more questions than it answered for Hopper. Did this mean that Eleven’s abilities were genetically inherited? If Terry Ives could move shit with her mind too, was MKUltra a success, or had their entire goal strictly been mind control? Shaking his head slightly, the man focused back on the child, who was continuing to speak. 

“Mama showed me in her head.” 

“In her head? How?” 

“Where I talk to Mike.” 

The Void, as the reports from Hawkins Lab had dubbed the girl’s inbetween area of consciousness. Terry could access this as well? “What did she show you?” 

When Eleven looked down at her socks, Jim didn’t miss the array of emotions that swept across her features. Before he could tell the girl that she didn’t have to continue if it was too much, she elaborated. “She looked for me. Found me once, but the bad men took her.” 

Hopper tightened his grip around her shoulders, silently letting the girl know he was there. “What did they do?” 

“They hurt her.” El said quietly, tears forming in her eyes and anger raising her upper lip. “They made her stuck in a dream.” 

“And she showed you all of this in your head?” Jim asked. El nodded. “What did you mean when you said you saw yourself come out of her tummy?” 

“Papa.” the girl said quietly, seemingly staring off into the distance. 

Brenner? What did… “What about him, Kid?” 

“He cut Mama’s tummy and took me.” 

Hopper sighed, rubbing a heavy hand across the back of his neck. “So technically, El, yes, you did come out of your Mama’s tummy, it’s called a C-section. Usually it’s only done in an   
emergency, if the baby or mother is in danger.” 

“Mama was bleeding and her tummy was big.” she said, demonstrating a pregnant stomach. “She was crying and hurt.” 

“A woman’s stomach swells when she’s pregnant because of the baby inside. You said she was bleeding?” the child nodded. “Then either you or her were in danger, that’s why you weren’t born normally.” El made a face at that; she knew she was far from normal already, but even her circumstances of birth were different, too. Jim quickly picked up on her feelings. “It’s not bad, Kid. Lots of people are born that way, just not most people. Get it?” 

“Yes.”

Hopper sighed again, already regretting what he was about to ask. “Do you have any more questions?” 

Eleven pondered for a moment. She had a hundred questions, but wanted to sort them by importance. “How does the baby get inside?” 

There it was, the million dollar question every parent dreaded hearing. As per usual though, this milestone had come, very much like many others, late. In the eyes of fellow parents, Hopper   
was lucky. 

“A...a man puts his private parts inside of a woman's private parts. That’s called sex, it’s how a baby gets inside a woman. Without both a man and a woman, there would be no baby.” 

Jim wasn’t sure what he expected from his explanation, but it certainly wasn’t the look of absolute disgust El flashed him with. He had to chuckle at it; it was the same face she’d made when he first had her try peas. 

“El, come on, they can’t be that bad. Peas are good for you.”

“No.”

“No what?”

“I don’t like them.”

“So I see. Why not?”

“They’re...mushy. And gross.” 

“What’s up, Kid?” the man finally asked, still amused at the child’s expression. 

“I..” she was at a loss for words, beyond surprised by the information she’d just recieved. The latest had been, by far, the most shocking. “That’s gross!”

As the father of a boy crazy teenage girl, these words were music to Hopper’s ears. He passed his laugh off as a cough but couldn’t hide his smile. “You asked. That’s how babies get inside.” 

She was quiet for another moment before speaking again. “I don’t want to do that.” 

“Then you don’t have to,” Hopper said, suddenly serious. “You never, ever have to do anything you don’t want to with your body, understand?” 

Eleven nodded, confused by his switch in tone. 

“If anyone ever tries to make you do something with your body that makes you feel uncomfortable, especially with your private parts, do whatever you need to do to get away from them.” Jim explained. “That includes using your powers. I don’t care who it is and who sees you, just keep yourself safe. And you tell me if something like that ever happens, okay? No matter what, even if someone tries to threaten you. ” 

“Who...would do that?” El asked hesitantly. 

“The Lab isn’t the only place that has Bad Men. There are crazy people everywhere who like to hurt others on purpose. They think it’s fun, ``he said. 

El thought of Kali, guilt stabbing her for a multitude of reasons. She still hadn’t told Hopper she’d been to Chicago. 

“I want you to really listen to me, okay?” the man said, gaining her attention again. He was staring at her intently; he wanted eye contact. She gave it to him. “Bad Men are sneaky sometimes,   
you know that. Sometimes they’ll try to scare you, tell you they’ll hurt you or someone else to keep you from telling someone, but that’s not true. I’m the chief of police, and I would never let someone hurt you or your friends. Nobody is ever allowed to touch you somewhere you don’t want to be touched. If someone tries to, get away from them as fast as you can and do whatever you need to do, okay? I will never be mad. Do you understand?”

“Yes.” El said, looking scared now. Shit, he hadn’t wanted this to happen. 

“That wasn’t the point I was trying to…” Jim paused, pinching his nose and sighing. “Sex is supposed to be good and happy, and usually it is. Good people everywhere have sex. It’s not a   
bad thing at all.” 

“So...Mama had sex to get me?”

“Correct.” 

“And Joyce to get Will?” 

“Yes, all of your friends’ parents. Everyone who is alive is here because of sex.” 

“Do you...have sex?” 

Are you shitting me, Kid? Do I look like someone who’s getting laid? “Well not right now, but I have before. My wife and I had Sara.” 

El turned away then, looking almost like she was going to throw up. “I wish you wouldn’t.” 

Hopper did laugh that time, really laugh, ruffling her curly hair. “Sorry, Kid. Do you have any more questions?” 

“Why do people do that?” 

The man momentarily debated on telling her the truth-the whole truth-but decided to tell half of it instead. He’d dug himself a deep enough hole already, and at her age with the deep   
infatuation she had with that damn Mike Wheeler, he didn’t want to encourage anything. 

“Because that’s how babies are made, and a lot of people want to have kids.” 

Eleven thought hard for a long time. “I...I want a baby, but…”

“Hey, you don’t have to worry about that for a long time, El. You’re so young, you have your whole life to decide. Right now, all I want you to think about is being a kid, okay?” Hopper said, hand on her shoulder. 

“Okay.” she said, still looking troubled. 

The man glanced out the window briefly, noting the clear sky. “Why don’t we go for a walk since it’s so nice out? We can see if the pond is still frozen over.” 

“Okay.” she said again, this time brightening as she went to get her coat and shoes. 

On the way out the door, Eleven looked up at the man with a final question on her tongue. ”Hoppa?” 

“Yeah, kid?” 

“Will Mike always be taller than me?” 

“Yeah, probably.” he said with a sigh. 

But El just smiled. “Good. I like tall.”


End file.
